Long Island woman charged with trying to fund ISIS through fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme

A Long Island woman tried to bankroll ISIS through fraud, bitcoin and shell companies, Brooklyn federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Zoobia Shahnaz conned financial institutions out of about $85,000 — including about $60,000 in bitcoin and other digital currencies — to help fund terror, according to authorities. Prosecutors said she wired more than $150,000 to shell entities in Pakistan, China and Turkey with the intention of helping ISIS.

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Zoobia Shahnaz conned financial institutions out of about $85,000 — including about $60,000 in bitcoin and other digital currencies — to help fund terror, according to authorities. (DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Shahnaz allegedly got the $85,000 by making misrepresentations to get a $22,500 bank loan and by applying for six credit cards. She converted the credit card funds to buy more than $60,000 in bitcoin and other digital currencies.

The 27-year-old Brentwood resident faces up to 20 years on charges that include bank fraud and money laundering to support a foreign terrorist organization. Shahnaz, a U.S. citizen and onetime Manhattan hospital lab technician with no criminal past, was awaiting arraignment Thursday in federal Court on Long Island.

The suspect converted credit card funds to buy more than $60,000 in bitcoin and other digital currencies. (Dado Ruvic/REUTERS)

She also was allegedly planning to travel to Syria — unbeknownst to her family. Federal agents intercepted her at a JFK gate ahead of a July flight to Islamabad with a layover in Turkey. She was carrying $9,500 in cash and gave vague answers on her travel plans, according to court papers. She was let go after the questioning and subsequently arrested Wednesday.

In the lead-up to the flight, Shahnaz allegedly did internet research on ISIS recruiters and financiers. She was "intending to put thousands of dollars into the coffers of terrorists," acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Bridget Rohde said.